Thin Ice
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Sophia takes a diet to the extreme as she prepares for a figure skating contest
1. Pigs in Love

It was a beautiful winter day in the Evergreen Forest. The Raccoons and Cedric were on Evergreen Lake playing hockey. Sophia was practicing her swan glides. Schafer was sitting on the sidelines, watching them all skate, and keeping an eye on Forest, who was more interested in playing in the snow with Broo than sitting and watching his mommy figure skate, or his daddy play hockey.

But our story actually begins at the Sneer mansion, in the Pigs quarters. Lloyd, Floyd, and Boyd were sitting around, not doing much of anything. Lloyd was trying to throw cards into his hat. Floyd was flipping through the channels on the TV, and Boyd was reading the Evergreen Standard, which was the Evergreen Forest's local newspaper.

"I wonder why the boss hasn't called us in yet?" Boyd asked.

"Don't knock it," Lloyd said, tossing the ten of spades into his hat. "Personally, I'd rather be bored to death than have the boss yell at us."

Things hit a small lull until Floyd jumped into the air, screaming.

"Guys! Guys!" he shouted. "Look at this! Look at this!"

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"There's going to be an ice skating contest on Evergreen Lake!" Floyd shouted. "And it's going to be judged by . . . . . Dorothy Ham!"

Dorothy Ham was an Olympic figure skating champion (who also happened to be a pig). Lloyd and Floyd ran over and looked at the article in the paper, complete with a picture of Dorothy Ham performing one of her glides. All three of them sighed dreamily.

"Dorothy Ham!" they swooned.

"What are you porkers doing now?" Cyril shouted, coming into the room suddenly. "I don't pay you to loaf around!"

"He doesn't pay us, period," Boyd muttered.

"Sorry boss," Lloyd said. "We were just thinking about Dorothy Ham!"

"Who's Dorothy Ham?" Cyril asked.

"The world champion Olympic figure skater!" Floyd shouted, giving Cyril the newspaper. "And the most beautiful figure skater in the world!"

"Not to mention the porkiest," Cyril commented. "I've had it with figure skating. Bad enough I've got Sofa Girl to pretending she's Peggy Lemming every winter."

Cyril skimmed through the article, and began muttering as he read it.

"Figure skating competition . . . . ." he read. "Judged by Dorothy Ham . . . . winner receives movie contract . . . . . worth a million dollars . . . . . a million dollars!"

Cyril's eyes then turned into dollar signs just then, and he heard the distinct sound of a cash register.

Ka-CHING!

It was at that exact moment that Cedric, Sophia, and Forest returned back to the mansion. Cyril ran over to them, grabbed Sophia's hand, twirled her around, and waltzed around the room with her.

"Ahhh, my dear Sophia!" he shouted. "Dear, dear, sweet, profitable—I mean, beautiful Sophia!"

"What did you call me?" Sophia asked, a little surprised. Cyril never called her "Sophia!"

"Are you feeling okay, Pop?" Cedric asked, a little surprised, himself!

"I'm more than okay, Cedric, my boy!" Cyril shouted. "I feel like a million bucks! And speaking of a million bucks . . . ."

"I should have known money had something to do with this," Sophia replied.

"Read this article in the paper," Cyril said, ignoring Sophia, and giving the paper to Cedric. Both he and Sophia glanced it over.

"A million dollar movie contract, the grand price for a figure skating competition?" Cedric asked. "What are you getting at with this, Pop?"

"All I'm saying is that Sophia should enter this competition," Cyril said. "She'll skate circles around the competition!"

"I don't know," Sophia said, a little hesitantly.

"Trust me," Cyril said. "We'll make you bigger than Peggy Lemming ever was back in her day!"

Peggy Lemming happened to be one of Sophia's idols since she was younger. Cedric and the Raccoons had told her time and time again that she was the best figure skater they had ever seen, but she still wasn't so sure about entering a contest like this. Especially since Cyril was only interested in her winning the competition just so she'd end up with the million dollar contract, and then he would do something sneaky to get his hands on the money. But, Sophia figured the contest might be fun, so she agreed.

"Okay," she said. "I'll do it."

"Fabulous," Cyril said. "We start training tomorrow!"


	2. Old Rival

_FWWEEEEET!_

The sound of a shrill whistle woke Cedric and Sophia from a peaceful sleep. Both of them sat up as fast as they could, shocked beyond belief.

"Let's get going!" Lloyd shouted. "Can't keep the boss waiting, you know! Hup two, hup two, hup two!"

"What's going on?" Cedric asked, groping around the night table for his glasses.

"It's four fifteen in the morning," Sophia said.

"Next time, we won't let you sleep in!" Lloyd shouted. "Let's go, time for training!"

"This early?" Cedric asked, finally finding his spectacles.

"If she wants to be the next Peggy Lemming, then she gets up at the crack of dawn to practice!"

"But it isn't even dawn yet!"

Lloyd blew the whistle again. Afraid that he was going to wake up Forest (it was always a pain in the neck whenever Forest woke up in the middle of the night screaming, because then it took forever to get him back to sleep), Sophia grudgingly got up, and began looking for her skates. Then she went down to the lake with the Pigs. Cyril was already there, waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"I was asleep," Sophia said.

"No excuses, Sofa Girl! Now I want you on that lake and I want to see your best stuff!"

Sophia got out on the lake, and showed Cyril her best stuff, which was mostly her swan glides. She threw in an axle and a twirl here and there, but mostly, it was the swan glides that made her act.

"That was as impressive as watching paint dry," Cyril said. "No, no, no! You can't just go out there and do those glide things! You have to do something that sets you apart from all the other contestants! It's the big acts that win the big bucks!"

"What do you know about figure skating?" Sophia asked.

"Unfortunately, not much," Cyril said. "But the Pigs on the other hand . . . ."

"I've got it!" Lloyd shouted. "She can study our videos of Dorothy Ham's routines!"

"Dorothy Ham!" Floyd and Boyd sighed dreamily. The two of them collapsed in the snow just thinking about her.

Cyril didn't respond. He just told Sophia to go back out on the ice and do her routine again, but put a little more zing into it.

"Those glides are fine for amateurs!" Cyril shouted at her as she skated. "But you want to show the judges something professional! Skate like you've never skated before!"

Sophia took a deep breath and skated. Cyril kept watching and criticizing her all morning. After awhile, the Raccoons came skating by, passing around a hockey puck. Bert hit it too hard, and it collided with Sophia's feet. She tripped, and fell with a THUMP!

"GET OFF THE ICE, YOU RING-TAILED RATS!" Cyril shouted at the top of his voice. "CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE WORKING HERE?!"

"What's going on?" Melissa asked, skating over. She and Ralph pulled Sophia to her feet.

"I'm coaching Sofa Girl in skating," Cyril said. "If you must know!"

"There's a figure skating competition coming up," Sophia said. "First prize is a million dollar movie contract."

"And Sofa Girl is going to win it," Cyril said. "That is once she gets her routine perfected."

"What's there to perfect?" Bert asked. "We already know Sophia's the best figure skater in the Evergreen Forest."

"Show us your routine, Sophia," Ralph said.

Sophia skated out to the middle of the lake and started her routine. While she was in the middle of it, she collided with another skater, and both of them crashed to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" the other skater, who was a thin girl aardvark with blond hair.

"Sorry," Sophia said. Then she and the other skater stood up. When Sophia got a good look at her, a surprised look came to her face.

"Carrie Anne Snodgress?" she asked.

"Sophia Tutu," Carrie Anne said. "Well, isn't this a surprise? You entered in the figure skating contest?"

"Yes, actually. Are you?"

"Of course I am! And I'm going to win!"

"Hey Sophia!" Bert called out. "You okay? We saw you two crash."

"Yes, I'm fine," Sophia said.

"Next time, be more careful, Sophia, dear," Carrie Anne said. "I can't afford any accidents!"

"Hey, Sophia, who is this?" Bert asked.

"This is Carrie Anne Snodgress," Sophia said. "She and I went to the same high school. Carrie Anne, these are my friends, Ralph, Melissa, and Bert Raccoon."

"Eh," Carrie Anne said, wrinkling her nose at the Raccoons. "You're hanging out with fleabags now, are you? Puh-leeze, I wouldn't be caught dead associating with raccoons!"

"Head cheerleader, homecoming queen, most popular girl in school?" Bert asked Sophia.

"And her boyfriend was captain of the football team," Sophia answered with a nod. At that point, Cyril came over, glaring.

"This isn't social hour, Sofa Girl!" he yelled. "Get back on the ice and practice, practice, practice!"

"Who's this?" Carrie Anne asked. "Your coach?"

"Yes," Sophia replied. "Carrie Anne, this is Cyril Sneer, who's not only my coach, but my father-in-law."

"And the biggest millionaire in the Evergreen Forest!" Lloyd shouted.

"Well, all the practicing you're going to do isn't going to help you win, Sophia," Carrie Anne said. "Watch this!"

Carrie Anne skating to center ice and began her routine. She twisted, twirled, leaped high into the air, and performed not a double axle, not a triple axle, but a quadruple axle! Everyone just stood there, wide eyed.

"Boy, not even Dorothy Ham can do a quadruple axle!" Boyd commented.

"Peggy Lemming can't, either," Bert replied.

"All right, Sophia," Carrie Anne said. "Let's see if you can top that."

Sophia gulped. She wasn't so sure if she could top that, but she was going to try. She did some of her swan glides, a couple of leaps, and some twirls. Ralph, Melissa, and Bert applauded for her when she was finished. Carrie Anne simply yawned.

"Not bad," she said. "Not bad at all, but those leaps could use some work."

"I know," Sophia said. "Maybe if I push off a little higher on them."

"You know, you could jump a lot higher if you lost a couple of pounds."

"Really?"

"Oh sure. I lost some weight and now I'm jumping higher than I ever could before."

Carrie Anne skating off to work on her routine. Sophia thought over what she said, and looked at her reflection in the ice. She wondered if Carrie Anne was right about her jumps. She didn't think she needed to lose any weight, but then again, Carrie Anne was the one who had the more impressive routine.

"Maybe I go on a diet," she said to herself as she skated off to work on her own routine. "It wouldn't hurt to get in shape for the competition, anyway."


	3. The Diet

Hours later, Cyril, Sophia, and the Pigs returned to the Sneer mansion. Cedric was in the kitchen, looking through a cook book, and Forest was sitting in his highchair, making a mess as usual. Cedric had given him some Cheerios, and Forest was throwing them on the floor. Snag was eating them up as fast as Forest could throw them.

"Hi, Pop," Cedric said. "You know you guys missed breakfast."

"That's okay," Sophia said. "I decided to go on a diet."

"A diet? You don't need to go on a diet, Sophia."

"Yeah, she's skinny enough as it is," Boyd said.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt," Sophia said with a shrug. She took Forest out of his highchair and carried him out of the kitchen before he could make an even bigger mess than he was already making.

After Sophia put Forest in his crib for a nap, she began to stare at herself in the mirror. She kept thinking about all the things Carrie Anne had said to her about those jumps of hers. The skating contest wasn't all that far off. She didn't know if she could lose the weight she wanted in time. That, and she still needed to practice a better routine. Cyril really wanted her to win this contest.

Sophia walked down the stairs with her ice skates slung over her shoulder. She was about to leave the house when Cedric caught up with her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the lake," Sophia answered. "I have to work on my routine."

"Right now? Didn't you just come back from the lake?"

"Practice makes perfect, Cedric."

"But what about lunch?"

"I'm not really hungry right now. I'll eat later."

"Well . . . . okay."

And with that, Sophia left. Cedric stared after her, not really sure what to think.

Sophia spent the rest of the day at the lake. When she returned, it was well past dinner time.

"You missed dinner, Sophia," Cedric said.

"I was working," Sophia said. "I've got to get a perfect routine for the competition, especially if I want to win the contract."

"That's my girl!" Cyril shouted. "Thinking about the big bucks!"

"I thought you weren't interested in the movie contract," Cedric said.

Sophia shrugged, and started up the stairs. Cedric was a little confused about her behavior, but he didn't say anything.

The next day, Sophia was up at four in the morning, practicing on the lake. Cyril kept criticizing her moves, and the Pigs were all mooning over Dorothy Ham, not really paying any attention to anything else.

"Come on, Sofa Girl!" Cyril shouted. "Get it together! Keep going, keep going! I want you to jump so high, you'll reach the stars! I want you to do _five_ of those axle things!"

Sophia skated her heart out. Cyril kept barking orders at her, and she carried them out. By the time the two of the returned to the mansion, Sophia was exhausted. But she didn't sit down to take a break. Instead, she just grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, took a couple of sips, and was ready to hit the ice again.

"Sophia, aren't you going to stay for lunch?" Cedric asked.

"I can't," Sophia replied. "I need to practice."

"But Sophia . . . . ."

"Besides, I'm not very hungry, anyway."

"But . . . . ."

Sophia was already out the door before Cedric could say anything. He was beginning to feel a little suspicious about things. Sophia had given him the same excuse the day before.

For the next few days, Cedric was starting to get worried. Sophia was starting to get up at three in the morning, and she went jogging until four. Then she would go out to the lake and work on her routine, all with Cyril yelling at her to do better. He was determined to have her win this contest. Then Sophia would spend hours on the lake, missing breakfast. Then she, Cyril, and the Pigs returned to the mansion for lunch, but Sophia always went back to the lake to practice. Then she'd spend all afternoon and sometimes all evening practicing, and not coming back until eight at night. She was also starting to skip meals and do more and more exercising and practicing.

One day, Sophia returned to the mansion after her four-in-the-morning practice. Cedric was in the kitchen, fixing a sandwich.

"I'm glad you're back, Sophia," he said. "Lunch is almost ready."

"No thanks, Cedric," Sophia said. "I need to work on my routine."

"You're routine's perfect, Sophia. You don't need to work on it anymore. I think you need to sit down and relax a little. And you need to eat something, too. You haven't been eating much these last few days."

"I'm too excited about the contest to even think about eating."

"Just the same, Sophia, I'd feel better if you did eat something."

"All right, all right. If it'll make you happy, Cedric, I'll sit down and I'll eat a sandwich or something."

Cedric smiled, and gave Sophia the sandwich he was making. Sophia took a bite out of it and started chewing. It was at that moment that she and Cedric heard Forest crying from upstairs. Both of them started to go see what was wrong.

"You stay here and finish eating, Sophia," Cedric said. "I'll go check on the baby."

Sophia nodded, and Cedric was off. Sophia waited until he was gone. Then she picked up a napkin, and spit the bite of sandwich into it. She threw it away, sat down, and dropped the sandwich on the floor.

"Come and get it, Snag," she said.

Cyril's dog, Snag, raced for the sandwich and gobbled it up. Snag was never too fond of Sophia, but now he was starting to like her. She was beginning to throw her food on the floor for him, too, just like Forest did.

"Good boy," Sophia said. "I want to lose this weight in time for the contest. And I can't afford to gain any of it now."


	4. Melissa and Schaefer Step In

Things didn't get much better during dinner. Cyril and Cedric were talking about one of Cyril's latest business ventures, so that gave Sophia a moment to hide the fact that she wasn't eating. She moved the food around on her plate, so it looked like she was eating it, but when Cedric wasn't looking, she'd take her fork and move it under the table, so Snag could eat it. Cyril didn't pay much attention, but Cedric noticed that Sophia was doing more playing with her food than eating it.

"Sophia, aren't you hungry?" he asked.

"Not really," Sophia said. She stood up from the table. "I think I'll get some more practice time in. See you later."

And with that, Sophia left. Cedric stared after her. He was starting to get worried about her.

The next day, Cedric went to the Evergreen Standard and talked to Melissa and Schafer about Sophia.

"All she ever does is practice," he said. "And she's not eating much, either. She says she needs to go on a diet."

"Sophia on a diet?" Schafer asked. "She doesn't need to lose weight."

"I keep telling her that, but she won't believe me," Cedric said. "I don't know what to do."

"She's working too hard to win this competition," Melissa said. "She should take a break."

"And she should go off this diet of hers," Schafer replied. "Especially if she's not eating."

"Don't worry, Cedric. We'll help you out."

"Thanks, guys," Cedric said, gratefully.

Melissa and Schafer went directly to Evergreen Lake. Sophia was working on her routine, skating up a storm. Schafer noticed right away that she looked thinner.

"Sophia!" he called. "Can you come here for a minute?"

"What is it?" Sophia asked, skating over. "I really need to practice my swan glides."

"You've been working too hard for this competition," Melissa said. "You need to take a break."

"I'm fine," Sophia said. "I'm not working too hard! I'm just practicing! I need something that will set me apart from all the other contestants!"

"We're just afraid you might be overdoing it," Schafer said.

"Well, I am not overdoing it!" Sophia snapped. "What would you know anyway? You're just a dog, Schafer!"

Schafer was a little stunned. Sophia had never snapped at anyone before! Melissa was a little surprised herself.

"Sophia!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry," Sophia apologized. "I've been a little stressed over this contest. But you guys shouldn't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Then come on and take a break with us," Melissa said.

Sophia gave in, and took off her skates. Then she, Melissa, and Schafer went into town for some burgers and fries. At least that's what Schafer and Melissa had ordered. Sophia just got some fries and a diet soda. Melissa didn't really pay it much attention, but Schafer did.

"Why are you so intent on winning this contest, Sophia?" Schafer asked. "You can't possibly want to win the million dollar movie contract. That's not like you."

"I know," Sophia said. "But I don't want to win for myself. Mr. Sneer really wants me to win it. I know he's just interested in the million dollar part, but maybe, just maybe if I win the contest, he may start to actually like me."

"I doubt it," Melissa said. "I don't think Cyril Sneer is ever going to like you, Sophia. He doesn't think you're good enough for Cedric. He just thinks you're nothing but a social climber."

Sophia shrugged, and picked up a french fry. She broke it in half, and just sort of held it there. Melissa didn't notice. Schafer did, but he didn't say anything. Sophia was hiding the fact that she wasn't eating by simply playing around with her food.

After that, Sophia went back to the lake to practice. Schafer went to Sneer mansion to tell Cedric what he had seen.

"You were right, Cedric," he said. "Sophia is definitely not eating."

"I was afraid of this," Cedric said with a sigh. "What should we do about it?"

"I think the best thing to do is to come right out and tell her that we know what she's doing."

Cedric agreed. He and Schafer knew exactly where to find Sophia at that time of day: at the lake practicing her routine. Sure enough, there she was, working on her routine.

"Sophia, hold it a minute," Cedric said. "We have to talk to you."

"What's the matter?" Sophia asked, skating over to Cedric and Schafer.

"It's this diet of yours, Sophia," Schafer said. "And all this practicing you're doing."

"What about it?" Sophia asked.

"You don't need to put yourself through this," Cedric said. "We know you're not eating, and you're just pretending to. You've got to stop this diet of yours. You don't need to go on one, anyway, and the way it's going . . . . . well, this diet you're on can only lead to anorexia."

"Are you implying that I'm anorexic?!" Sophia shouted.

"Well, not yet," Cedric said. "But you're heading there."

"Cedric, how could you!" Sophia shouted, and she gave Cedric a good, hard slap in the face.

"Ow!" Cedric shouted. He had no idea Sophia could hit so hard! And it was so unlike her, too.

"Cedric's just worried about you, Sophia," Schafer said. "I am, too. You're working yourself too hard. You've got to stop. You've got to drop out of this competition."

"If I drop out, Mr. Sneer will be furious," Sophia said. "And Carrie Anne Snodgress will think I'm chickening out. No. I have to go through with it. I have to win this contest!"

"Winning a contest is not worth throwing your health away, Sophia!" Cedric shouted. "You've got to get some help. You've got a problem, and this diet will go out of control of you don't get off it now."

"I don't have a problem!" Sophia protested. "Lots of people go on diets when they need to lose weight or get in shape for something! And that's just what I'm doing!"

"No you're not," Schafer said. "This is turning into a problem, Sophia. Please, try and get some help."

"Why don't the two of you just mind your own business?!" Sophia snapped. She turned, and then skated away from Cedric and Schafer. She had nothing more to say to them.

Schafer and Cedric were a bit speechless, themselves. They looked at each other, not really knowing what to do or say.

That night during dinner, both Cedric and Sophia were picking at their meals. Sophia was sort of rearranging her food on her plate, so it looked like she was eating, and Cedric was too worried about her to even think of eating himself. That, and Sophia wasn't speaking to Cedric. She was still angry with him.

"The contest is in a couple of weeks," Lloyd said.

"A couple of weeks until we meet Dorothy Ham," Boyd sighed, dreamily.

"Is that act of yours coming together, Sofa Girl?" Cyril asked. "I want to really impress the judges with it."

"It's coming along," Sophia said, with a nod. "I think I'm ready for it."

"Good," Cyril said. "Just be sure you win it!"

"Pop, how can you tell her that?" Cedric asked. "Winning isn't everything, you know. I think you're working Sophia too hard."

"Winning is everything when a million dollar contract is on the line, Cedric!" Cyril shouted. "And you've got to work them hard when you want them to win!"

Cedric sighed. He didn't like where this conversation was going, so he kept quiet about it. After dinner, Sophia went out to Evergreen Lake to continue practicing her routine. Cedric had to put Forest to bed, like he had been doing since he heard about the contest. Forest whimpered a little when Cedric put him in his crib.

"What's the matter, Forest?" Cedric asked, stroking Forest's ears, like Sophia did when Forest was upset. "Do you miss Mommy? Yeah, I miss her, too."

Cedric pulled Forest out of the crib, sat down in the rocking chair, and began rocking the baby back and forth. He sighed, and ran his fingers along Forest's ears.

"I'll be glad when this skating contest is over," he said, holding Forest close. "Then maybe things will go back to normal around here."

Forest began to cry. He didn't understand much of what was happening lately, but he didn't like it. He never saw his mommy anymore, and he could sense that his daddy was worried about something, and he didn't like it. Cedric knew what was making Forest upset, but unfortunately, he couldn't do much about it. So he just sat in the rocking chair with him, and just rocked Forest back and forth.

"It'll be okay, Forest," he said. "I'm sure of it."

But deep down, Cedric really wasn't all that sure that everything would be okay, at all.


	5. Contest Calamity

After another two weeks of intensive training, and dieting, it was the night before the skating competition. Sophia was confident that she was ready as she was ever going to be. Cedric was worried about her. She had come in late one night from practicing, only to find Cedric still up.

"I'd thought you'd be asleep," she said.

"I was waiting up for you," Cedric replied. "I'm really worried, Sophia."

"I told you, I'm fine! Stop being such a worrywart, Cedric!"

Cedric was a little stunned. He couldn't even talk to Sophia without her biting his head off lately. He decided to ignore her attitude.

"Forest really misses you," he said. "He's used to both of us around here."

"I have to practice if I want my routine to be perfect."

"It doesn't matter to Forest. He doesn't understand. He's only a baby."

Sophia didn't say anything. She began changing her clothes to get ready for bed. The minute she took off her sweat shirt, she sat down on the bed, and held her head in her hand for a moment.

"Are you okay, Sophia?" Cedric asked.

"Hmm?" Sophia asked, looking at Cedric. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired that's all."

Tired nothing, Cedric thought to himself. He looked at Sophia, and he could clearly see the outline of her ribcage. That only started to get him even more worried. But he wasn't going to say a word about it. Instead he stood up.

"I think I'm going to raid the kitchen for a midnight snack," he said. "You want anything?"

Sophia hesitated. For just one moment, Cedric thought (and hoped, for that matter), that she would take him up on his offer. But she shook her head, walked over to the closet, and pulled her nightgown out of it.

"No thanks," she said. "I think I'm just going to get some sleep. I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow."

"Actually, I think I'll turn in, too," Cedric replied.

"What about your midnight snack?"

"I just lost my appetite."

Sophia nodded. She crawled into bed, and turned out the light. Cedric followed. He positioned himself on his side, and draped his arm across Sophia, and held her close to him. He could feel her skeleton all too clearly. Needless to say, Cedric didn't get any sleep that night.

Dawn broke. Cedric was practically walking into the walls. Cyril stared at him as he came down to breakfast, hair messy, ears drooping, and glasses sitting lopsided on his face.

"Cedric, you look terrible," he said. "Been getting enough sleep, son?"

"No, I haven't," Cedric admitted. He walked over to the cabinets, and pulled out a jar of strained peaches for Forest.

Forest didn't look all that great, either. He had picked up a lot of Cedric's worried, and it only made him upset. Cyril thought they were both acting strange.

"Shape up, Cedric," he said. "Forest's starting to pick up something from you there."

"I know," Cedric said. "He just misses Sophia, that's all. Ever since we heard about the contest, Sophia's done nothing but practice, practice, practice."

Sophia came into the kitchen a few minutes later. She didn't look to well, either. As a matter of fact, she was very pale, and gaunt. Forest took one look at her, and shrieked. The sight of his mommy just scared the living daylights out of him.

"What's wrong with him?" Cyril asked.

"I don't know," Cedric said, but he had a pretty good idea why Forest had suddenly started crying like that. He pulled him out of the highchair, and began rubbing his back. Forest immediately buried his face in his daddy's shoulder.

"Well, today's the big day, my little ice princess," Cyril said to Sophia. "Are you ready to win that million dollar contract?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Mr. Sneer," Sophia said.

"Pop, you can't let her go through with this," Cedric said.

"Shut up, Cedric," Cyril said. "You don't get big bucks by being chicken."

Cedric sighed. There was no way to talk Sophia out of competing, either. So, they went down to Evergreen Lake. The Pigs raced to the judges box the minute they got there. Sophia walked to where the other contestants were hanging out to change into her costume. Cyril and Cedric went into the audience. Bert, Ralph, Melissa, and Schafer joined them a few minutes later.

"Did you manage to talk to Sophia?" Schafer asked.

"Not much," Cedric said with a sigh. "I just hope she wins this contest. I'm starting to think that's the only way things will go back to normal."

Schafer nodded. Bert suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hey check out the Pigs down there!" he shouted.

Everyone turned too look and saw the Pigs in front of the judges box. Sitting in the judge's box was a pig with brown hair cut in a wedge. She wore a blue and magenta skating dress, and white figure skates. She was none other than the Olympic figure skating champion, Dorothy Ham.

"Oh Miss Ham, we think you're the greatest!" Boyd shouted.

"We've watched every competition you were ever in," Lloyd said.

"If you need anything just let us know," Floyd said.

"You boys are so sweet," Dorothy said to them.

The Pigs sighed dreamily, and practically melted onto the ice. They scrambled to their feet just then and crowded around Dorothy just then.

"Would you like a glass of water, Miss Ham?" Lloyd asked.

"Would you like a sandwich, Miss Ham?" Floyd asked.

"Would you like a husband, Miss Ham?" Boyd asked, dreamily.

"Uhhh," Dorothy said, a little nervously. "A glass of water would be fine, thank you."

The Pigs rushed off just then, practically fighting each other to get Dorothy Ham a glass of water. The Raccoons began to crack up.

"Boy, I've never seen anyone so smitten before!" Ralph shouted.

If Cedric wasn't so worried about Sophia, he probably would have been laughing over the Pigs making idiots of themselves over Dorothy Ham. After the Pigs returned with three glasses of water for Dorothy, the emcee started to announce the start of the contest.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the judge of our contest, Olympic gold medalist, Miss Dorothy Ham!"

The Pigs began jumping up and down, screaming, cheering, and whistling. The rest of the audience just applauded. Dorothy skated out onto the ice, and took a couple of bows.

"Thank you," she said, waving at the audience.

"Did you see that?" Floyd asked. "She waved at me!"

"No she didn't," Boyd said. "She waved at me!"

"You're both wrong!" Lloyd shouted. "She clearly waved at me!"

"Will you three keep quiet!" Cyril yelled. "Sheesh!"

"Yes sir!" the Pigs shouted, and they shut up right away.

The contest was underway after awhile. A lot of the competitors were pretty good. Sophia was waiting to go on, as well as Carrie Anne Snodgress. Carrie Anne was performing some stretches and she looked at Sophia.

"Sheesh, you look terrible," she said. "What happened? Did you get run over by a zamboni while trying to skate?"

"Very funny," Sophia said.

"You might as well drop out of the contest, dear. I'm going to win it."

"We'll just see about that."

Carrie Anne just smirked, and checked her hair in the mirror. She was up next. Once her name was announced, she skated out onto the ice, and performed her routine, complete with quadruple axle. Of course, everywhere she skated, she sent a spray of silver glitter all over the place.

"Ptooey!" Bert shouted, spitting some of it out of his mouth. "Great. She got glitter in my peanut butter!"

Carrie Anne's music ended, and she stopped skating. As the judges began talking, Carrie Anne skated off the lake and turned to Sophia.

"Top that," she said, smirking.

"Our next contestant," the announcer said. "Sophia Sneer."

Ralph, Melissa, and Schafer began applauding and cheering. Bert stood up, and began whistling. Cedric took Forest's hands, and clapped them together, and cheered a little, but his heart really wasn't in it.

Sophia skating to the center of the lake, somewhat sluggishly. She could barely lift her leg up to start her routine. The blades on her skates felt like they were made out of lead. Her music started, and she took one swan glide forward, and fell to the ice. Carrie Anne began to laugh, rudely I might add.

"What is she doing?" Cyril asked. "Get up, Sofa Girl! You call that skating!"

"Pop!" Cedric shouted.

Sophia managed to pull herself to her feet. Her music started at the beginning, and she managed to start her routine without anything else happening, until she started to twirl. When she finished twirling, she got so dizzy that she just collapsed on the ice. The crowd gasped. Cyril jumped to his feet. Carrie Anne began laughing again, even harder than she did when Sophia fell the first time.

"Sophia!" Cedric shouted. He handed Forest to Cyril and raced down to the ice. He skidded a bit when he got there, and nearly fell and broke his leg, but it wouldn't have mattered to him. He placed his hand behind Sophia's neck, and pulled her head up a little.

"Sophia?" he asked. "Sophia, wake up! Please, speak to me, Sophia!"

The crowd began to talk at once. Ralph, Melissa, Bert, and Schafer came out onto the ice, themselves.

"Is she okay?" Bert asked.

"I don't know," Melissa said. She began patting Sophia's cheek, trying to get her to wake up. "Sophia? Sophia, are you all right?"

"Come on, Sophia," Ralph said, taking Sophia's hand.

Most of the crowd had gathered around Sophia just then, all talking at once. Dorothy Ham pushed through the crowd.

"Excuse me," she said. "Excuse me, please! Let me through!"

The crowd moved aside so Dorothy could skate through. She kneeled down and looked over Sophia.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" she shouted. "Hurry!"

The Pigs raced off to find a phone. Dorothy shook her head and sighed.

"Terrible," she said. "I've seen this too many times with girls. They think they have to be thin to be perfect."

"Will she be okay?" Cedric asked.

"I don't know. Only time will tell."

Cedric nodded and sighed. He knew Cyril worked Sophia too hard, and he knew that the diet she was on could only lead to disaster. An ambulance arrived a few moments later. Cedric could barely watch as the paramedics lifted Sophia onto a stretcher, carried her to the back of the ambulance, and then drove off.

"She'll be okay, Cedric," Bert said. "I know she will."

"I wish there was something I could have done to prevent this," Cedric said with a sigh. "I wish I could have stopped it from happening."

"Cedric, it wasn't your fault," Melissa said.

Cedric hung his head and sighed. Cyril came down to the lake, glaring at them all. Forest had begun to cry the minute Sophia went down, and seeing his mommy being loaded into the ambulance didn't do much for his morale. Cyril practically shoved him in Cedric's arms.

"What does she think she's doing!" he yelled. "She's supposed to be winning this contest!"

"Pop, how can you think of the contest at a time like this?" Cedric asked, as he rubbed Forest's back. "I tried to tell you she couldn't skate today, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Don't blame this on me, Cedric! Sofa Girl's going to be hearing from me! She just lost me a fortune!"

"I don't believe you!" Schafer yelled. "Sophia practically starved herself just to win this contest for you, and all you care about is money!"

"So?" Cyril asked.

Cedric couldn't take much more of this. He gave Forest a hug, and handed him to Melissa.

"Would you mind watching Forest for awhile, Melissa?" he asked. "I want to go down to the hospital and stay with Sophia."

"Of course," Melissa said, nodding.

"Thanks."

Cedric started to leave. Bert ran after him. At a time like this, he wasn't going to leave Cedric alone. Forest began to cry a little harder then. He knew his daddy was upset, and that something was wrong with his mommy, and he just couldn't take it. Melissa began patting him on the back.

"It'll be okay, Forest," she said softly. "Hush, hush, honey. It's going to be okay. Your mommy's going to be all right. I hope."


	6. Back to Normal

Both Bert and Cedric were sitting with Sophia in her hospital room. She had an IV tube stuck in her arm. She looked so small in the hospital bed, and so frail. Cedric could barely bring himself into the room, but he did, with a little push from Bert. Cedric took a deep breath, pulled up a chair, and sat down. He took Sophia's hand in his, and held it as gently as he possibly could, as if she were made of fragile glass. Bert stood behind him, and put a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Cedric," he said. "There's nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right, Bert," Cedric said.

Hours went by. Cedric was still at the hospital with Sophia. Bert went back to the Raccoondominium to check in. As he was walking in, Cyril was walking out with Forest.

"What are you doing here?" Bert asked, glaring.

"Picking up the baby," Cyril said. "Where's Cedric?"

"Still at the hospital."

"Is he gonna be there all night?"

"Probably. No thanks to you."

"It wasn't my fault!"

"Not all of it, anyway."

Cyril didn't respond. He just took Forest to his car, put him in the car seat, and drove off. When they got back to the mansion, things were pretty empty. Forest didn't like it. He was glad he had his grandpa with him, but what he really wanted was to see his mommy and daddy, especially his mommy. He began whimpering, and then began crying.

"Here we go," Cyril groaned. "Your parents will be back soon, Forest, so in the meantime, just relax!"

Forest couldn't relax. Cyril sighed, went into the kitchen, and pulled out an already prepared bottle of apple juice. He took it upstairs with Forest, and put the baby into his crib. He gave the baby the bottle, and turned on his mobile. Then he started to leave the room. Forest stood up in his crib, whined a little, and reached for his grandpa.

"Goodnight, Forest!" Cyril yelled, frustrated. He shut the door, and stormed off. Forest began screaming hysterically then. And to top it off, Snag started howling.

"How can you take the noise, sir?" Lloyd asked, as he, Floyd, and Boyd came into the hallway.

"Practice!" Cyril shouted.

Things didn't get that much better the next day. Cedric returned to the mansion at around nine in the morning. Forest immediately reached out to him the minute he entered the kitchen.

"Did you stay at the hospital all night?" Cyril asked.

"Yes," Cedric replied, lifting Forest out of his highchair. "I don't know why they didn't kick me out when visiting hours were over. But they did manage to kick me out. They said that I should go home and get some sleep. Let them take care of Sophia."

"Well, whatever. Don't make any plans, Cedric, I need you here today."

"What for?"

"I need the books to be looked at. I have to deduct how much time, effort, and money went into that skating contest. Especially the money! I want to know exactly how much Sofa Girl cost me, and I intend on making her pay it all back! With interest!"

"I can't believe you'd really do that, Pop."

"Well, I am, believe it or not! Drop the baby at the Raccoons place and let's get to work! I can't have Forest under foot all day while I try to recover from this skating contest!"

Cedric sighed, and stood up. On his way out the door, he grabbed Forest's baby bag, and then took him to the Raccoondominium. Ralph, Bert, and Melissa were just as shocked as Cedric had been when he told him Cyril's intentions.

"I don't believe him!" Ralph shouted, as he took Forest from Cedric.

"Of all the nerve!" Melissa yelled. "Just who does he think he is, anyway?"

"Yeah, first he works poor Sophia to the brink of exhaustion," Bert said. "Then when she loses the skating contest, Cyril wants to make her pay for all the money he's lost! Boy Cedric, your pop sure is a creep! Sometimes, I wonder how in the world you two can even be related!"

"I know, I know," Cedric said with a sigh. "I'd better get going, or else Pop's really gonna get angry if I don't work on the books today."

"Don't worry about Forest," Melissa said. "We'll take good care of him."

"I know you will," Cedric said. "Bye, guys."

Cedric walked off. Forest watched him go and whimpered a bit. Melissa took him from Ralph, and gave him a hug.

"Now, now, Forest," she said. "It's all right. Your daddy's going to come back for you soon. He just has to do some work for your grandpa right now."

"I think I know what'll calm him down," Bert said. "Hey, Forest, how about some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies?"

Forest didn't answer. Bert took him from Melissa and brought him into the kitchen. The cookies were a good distraction. Forest stopped whimpering for the time being. For the rest of the day, Bert, Ralph, and Melissa took turns playing with the baby, and keeping an eye on him until Cedric returned.

"Was he any trouble?" he asked.

"Well, we had a rocky start at first," Ralph said. "But Forest calmed down after Bert gave him a couple of cookies."

"He hates it when Sophia and I leave him with baby-sitters," Cedric said. "He's really been taking Sophia's . . . . defeat kind of hard."

Ralph nodded. He would have suggested Cedric take Forest to the hospital to visit with Sophia, but he had seen her in the hospital already, and she still pretty much looked the same as she did when she was admitted. The sight of seeing Sophia laying in a hospital bed, so small and frail, would probably scare Forest half to death.

In the following days, Sophia began to improve, but very slowly. She was awake, to say the least, and talking to a physician, and a psychiatrist as well. Cedric was over at the hospital with her as often as he could be.

"I'm glad you're doing better, Sophia," he said. "You had us all worried there for awhile."

"I know," Sophia said. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you when you tried to warn me, Cedric. I guess I was so intent on winning the contest, nothing else mattered to me anymore."

"Well, you'll be glad to know that Carrie Anne Snodgress didn't win the contest. When she found out she didn't even place, she threw a fit!"

"Really? But her routine was perfect?"

"Yeah, and everyone thought it was too perfect. She was also disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, for laughing the way she did when you collapsed."

Sophia sighed, and shook her head. About a second later, Ralph, Bert, and Melissa peeked into the doorway.

"Hi," Ralph said. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," Sophia said.

"How are you feeling, Sophia?" Melissa asked.

"A little tired, a little drained, and very hungry," Sophia said, with a laugh.

"Well, that's good," Ralph said. "Because we brought you something."

Melissa walked over carrying a large cookie tin. Sophia took off the lid and found it filled with peanut butter cookies.

"I hope they don't have you on a liquid diet," Ralph said.

"Or else we might have to put these in a blender," Bert said. "I wonder what they would taste like."

Bert reached for one of the cookies, but Melissa smacked his paw before he could grab one.

"Don't you dare," she said. "These are all for Sophia."

"Really, Melissa, it's all right," Sophia said. "I don't think I'll be able to eat all of these cookies myself. Bert can have some if he wants."

"No," Melissa said, firmly. "These are all for you."

"And you're going to eat every last one of those cookies," Ralph said. "Although you don't have to eat them all in one sitting."

"Can't I have at least one?" Bert asked.

"No!" Ralph and Melissa shouted in unison.

Everyone laughed over that one. Bert smiled sheepishly. He wanted to grab one of the cookies, but he didn't.

A few weeks went by. Sophia was finally released from the hospital, but she was still required to go for counseling sessions with a therapist. Cyril found her one day, laying on the couch, reading a book from the Sneer library, and munching on an apple.

"You're back, huh?" he asked. "Well . . . . good. I want to talk to you."

"I know, Cedric told me," Sophia said. "You're going to make me pay you back, with interest, the money you spent on the skating contest."

"Right. I'll have you know that I lost a lot of money from that whole thing!"

"You don't have to worry about the money, Mr. Sneer. Somehow or another, I'll find out how to pay you back."

"With interest!"

And with that, Cyril stormed off. Cedric and Bert happened to hear the conversation between the two of them, and neither of them were happy about this.

"Hey Sophia!" Bert shouted. "How in the world does Cyril expect you to pay him back for the money he invested in this contest?! With interest no less! And I can't believe you're going to actually pay him back!"

"I don't think I have much of a choice," Sophia said, shrugging.

"When someone owes Pop money, he stops at nothing until he collects," Cedric said.

"I'll show him," Bert mumbled.

That night, Cyril went over what Sophia owed him for the contest. Bert was hanging out at the mansion as well, waiting. He had something to show Cyril.

"The way I see it," Cyril said. "You owe for that contract you lost."

"But I can't possibly play you a million dollars!" Sophia shouted. "Especially not with interest!"

"Well, you're . . . . somewhat of a smart girl. Sort of. I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Wait a minute, Pop," Cedric said. "You'd actually make her pay you the million dollar contract, plus interest?"

"Yep," Cyril replied.

"I don't believe you!" Bert shouted, running into the room. "You were the one who landed her in the hospital! If anything, you should be paying her hospital bill, and therapy bills!"

"Fine and dandy," Cyril said. "I'll pay her therapy bills, and she'll pay me back for the contract."

"Really," Bert said. "Well, think about this. Sophia's still in therapy for that diet of hers. And what's more, if she's working to pay you back the million dollars, plus interest, she'll work herself into exhaustion, which will land her in the hospital again, and go to include more therapy bills. Then the cycle will start all over again, until you're paying more than she'll be paying you back for that contract. You've got a choice, Cyril. If Sophia has to pay you a million bucks, plus interest, then you have to pay her hospital, and therapy bills. Your other choice is that you forget this whole thing right now."

Cyril thought it over. Then he started out the door.

"In light of the situation," he said. "Let's forget this whole thing ever happened."

And with that, Cyril was gone. Cedric, Sophia, and Bert burst out laughing over that. It was great to have things back to normal.

The next day, the gang went out to the local ice cream parlor to celebrate Sophia's successful recovery.

"We're glad you're feeling better, Sophia," Schafer said.

"Yeah, you had us plenty worried, young lady!" Bert teased.

"Promise us you'll never take a diet that far again," Melissa said.

"Don't worry, I won't," Sophia said. "And I can tell you this now, I'm starving!"

"Good," Cedric said. He then began to look over the menu. "How about splitting a banana split with me?"

"No thanks, Cedric," Sophia said. "I think I'll get one for myself."

Everyone laughed over that one. It was a sure sign that Sophia was feeling like her old self once more. She no longer worried about her weight, and she no longer got up at four in the morning to exercise, either. And she wasn't about to enter anymore figure skating contests for a very, very long time.

The End


End file.
